Title:
Title
Approval of Grant Agreements for City of Sacramento CARES Act-Summer Learning Initiative Program (COVID-19) [Two-Thirds Vote Required]
End
FileID
File ID: 2020-00746
Location
Location: Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Pass a Motion: 1) by two-thirds vote waiving Sacramento City Code section 4.04.020 and Council Rules of Procedure Chapter 7, Section E.2.d that mandate all labor agreements and all agreements greater than $1,000,000 shall be made available to the public at least ten (10) days prior to Council action; 2) approving the CARES Act-Summer Learning Initiative Program Grant Agreements with a) Natomas Unified School District with a cost not-to-exceed $500,000; and b) Sacramento Unified School District with a cost not-to-exceed $1,151,131, funded from the Coronavirus Relief Fund Programs (G02610100); and 3) authorizing the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee, to execute the grant agreements.
Contact: Mario Lara, Director, (916) 808-1041; Monica Blanco, Interim Youth Division Manager, (916) 808-6308; Vanessa Cuevas-Romero, Program Specialist, (916) 808-6157, Department of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment
Body
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Summer Learning Initiative Program Overview Chart
3-Natomas Unified School District Agreement
4-Sacramento City Unified School District Agreement
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: On May 26, 2020, the City Council took several actions allocating initial investments of CARES Act funding provided to the City of Sacramento. An appropriation of $2.0 million was allocated by Council for a summer learning initiative to serve the most at-risk students, to be implemented through a partnership with School Districts or Independent Charter Schools, which may contract with community-based non-profit organizations (CBO), who serve those youth in the Summer of 2020.
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Youth, Parks, & Community Enrichment released a Request for Information (RFI) from School Districts and Independent Charter Schools with schools located in the City of Sacramento, which was sent to the six school districts within the City: Natomas Unified School District, Robla School District, Twin Rivers Unified School District, Sacramento City Unified School District, Elk Grove Unified School District, and Sacramento County Department of Education. The RFI offered these School Districts and Independent Charter Schools access to CARES Act funds for K-12 summer learning opportunities and intervention programs to mitigate COVID-19 learning loss and improve social emotional learning. The submittal deadline was June 11, 2020 due to the need for the summer program to start in July. The proposed programs could be virtual, in-person, or a hybrid, and are to be provided pursuant to State and County public health directives and specific district policy. Each District had to provide matching funds.
Four applications were received, one from each school district except Twin Rivers. Out of the four applications, Natomas Unified School District and Sacramento City Unified School District requested over $250,0000, which requires City Council approval. All four programs comply with the CARES Act- Summer Learning Initiative eligibility requirements. Refer to attachment 2, Summer Learning Initiative Program Overview Chart, for an overview of each District’s scope of services.
All spending associated with CARES Act funding must be used for COVID-19 recovery and relief. The CARES Act requires that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) only be used to cover expenses that: (1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19; (2) were not accounted for in the grantee’s approved budget as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act); and (3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020. Note that the Summer Learning Initiative (SLI) program is for the period from July 1, 2020 through August 31, 2020.
Grantees are required to document their distance learning efficacy and the impact that the Summer Learning Initiative had both on academic improvement and social-emotional skill-building after completion of the program.
Policy Considerations: The proposed action is consistent with CARES Act Funding provided to the City and the Citywide Youth Development Plan.
Sacramento City Code Section 4.04.020 and Council Rules of Procedure (Chapter 7, Section E.2.d) mandate that unless waived by a 2/3 vote of the City Council, all labor agreements and all agreements greater than $1,000,000 shall be made available to the public at least ten (10) days prior to council action. The recommendation is to waive this requirement in order to approve the grant agreements before the summer programs are set to start.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: The recommendation in this report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it involves government fiscal and administrative activities under Section 15378(b)(4) of the CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, §15000 et seq.), and is, therefore, not subject to CEQA pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines.
Sustainability: None.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: Education experts nation-wide are predicting that the COVID-19 related extended departure from in-classroom learning will have an enormous negative impact, particularly for students in at-risk categories. Summer learning opportunities and interventions that mitigate COVID-19 related learning loss and address students’ social emotional learning are an immediate and urgent need. If left unchecked, these impacts will impede students’ abilities to learn and to transition back into the school year.
Financial Considerations: Funding for this program was approved on May 26, 2020 by the City Council. An appropriation of $2.25 million was allocated by the City Council from the Coronavirus Relief Fund Programs (G02610100) to the Youth Enrichment Program (G02610104) of which $2.0 million is for the Summer Learning Initiative to serve the most at-risk students. This program will be implemented through a partnership with school districts to serve youth within the City in the summer of 2020. The total amount of the four grants is $1,889,995.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable